


i'm miles from where you are

by weasleyspotter



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hostage Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 01:31:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1207819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weasleyspotter/pseuds/weasleyspotter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's waiting for someone to come for her. And he's trying to bring her home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm miles from where you are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hilarychuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hilarychuff/gifts).



> Written really really late for the Agents of Shield Christmas Fic Exchange for hilarychuff for the prompt Hostage and one of them saving the other. I decide to combine those two prompts. This is AU, because it assumes that the Bus doesn't exist and Grant and Jemma have never met. I wrote most of us this is one night, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

i.

 

The restraints bit into her wrists.

 

She didn’t struggle. She knew better than that. But she could no longer count the hours that she had been tied up, and she knew it was long enough that her hands had gone numb from lack of blood circulation. She fruitlessly waited for any sign of where she was. A drop of water, the sound of a truck roaring by, anything.

 

(Not that it would have been of any use, she had gone on for a long time without any contact with the outside world.)

 

Being taken hostage was a very real possibility, working for SHIELD, so real that they had made her take a series of courses on how to deal with captivity. It was mainly in order to assure that she had the mental stability to not lose her mind and reveal the secrets she knew.

 

The instructor had said someone would come for her.

 

(“Of course they would come for her, they would send their very best.”)

 

No one had come.

 

ii.

 

He supposes if he had a desk Agent Hill would have thrown the file on his desk.

 

But since he doesn’t have a desk (at least he doesn’t think he has a desk, there’s no use) Agent Hill throws the file at his face.

 

He catches it before it nearly nicks his forehead, glaring stonily at her. She cocks an eyebrow, daring him to comment. Instead he shifts his focus to the file. Although he was technically still on ‘mandatory leave’ due to an injury to his right shoulder, he supposes whatever is in the folder takes priority. (He wonders if it has to do with the Avengers.)

 

“Agent Jemma Simmons was taken by hostiles fourteen days ago. We have made contact with her captors. They offered a ransom, but since we refused there has been radio silence. We’re not sure if Simmons is even alive.”

 

“Then why?” He questions holds up the file.

 

“Because a level seven engineer is throwing a fit.” Grant cocks an eyebrow at that, “SHIELD protocol dictates that we have to send a Field Agent in to assess the situation. We need to confirm her status.”

 

“You want me to check whether she’s dead or alive,” he asks bluntly, hating himself just a bit.

 

Hill crosses her arms. She never liked him, and he doubted that would change any time soon.

 

“If she’s alive?” He questions, flipping through the file, reading up on Agent Simmons bio data.

 

“Bring her home, Agent Ward,” Hill orders.

 

iii.

 

She starts to talk to herself.

 

Her captors stopped coming to visit, and the only sign that she hadn’t be left to rot away by them is a tray of food shoved through the hole in the door three times a day. She hasn’t had any form of human contact, and it’s driving her insane.

 

They do say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.

 

She’s never stupid of course, she doesn’t discuss escape plans or entertains thoughts of anyone coming for her. Instead she recites the Periodic table, she lists the atomic weight and number of each element. She draws atomic structures with her toes into the ground. She muses over memories from her childhood, friends long forgotten, deeds buried away.

 

It’s the frustration of pure silence that gets her. Her captors haven’t spoken to her, haven’t made any indication that they knew who she was, but they had to. Because otherwise it wouldn’t make sense why they took her.

 

And she needed it to make sense.

 

iv.

 

He starts the investigation by talking to Agent Leo Fitz, the agent that insisted that her disappearance be investigated by the very best, and the last one to see her.

 

Agent Fitz glares and huffs at him a bit, and the entire experience is exasperating, reminding Ward once again why he refused to deal with other people, but it helps understand why Simmons might have been taken.

 

Simmons had been investigating the possibility of a benefactor for people with super powers, Fitz explained. People with powers had been cropping up around the country claiming to do the bidding of a mysterious benefactor who had helped them hone their skills.

 

According to Fitz, Simmons had been on the verge of a huge break through, except no one knew what the break through was.

 

In the end, Fitz looks at him long and hard. “Please just get her back.” Fitz’s hard exterior breaks for a moment, a gleam of absolute desperation shines through, making Ward squirm just a bit.

 

Promising to bring back a missing person is a textbook error, but still Ward nods.

 

v.

 

Before her capture, she had been convinced that there was a woman named Raina collecting a group of super powered individuals and using them for her own bidding.

 

(She’s still convinced that Raina is part of the operation. But it’s clear that it’s more than just Raina. Raina is just a pawn, like the rest of them.)

 

Raina is the first one to come and see her. She looks out of place in the dirty cell, poised and prim. She’s wearing a floral print dress, smiling down at Jemma.

 

“It’s very nice to meet you,” she trills.

 

Jemma stares up at her blankly.

 

“I hope you’ve been enjoying your stay here with us,” Raina smiles, as if enjoying a private joke. “We’ve made every attempt to make you more comfortable.”

 

“Really?” Jemma’s voice is hoarse with disuse; she stopped talking when she realized how much it drained her to simply open her eyes. The sarcasm, however, comes naturally.

 

Raina looks at her pleasantly. “We’ve prepared more comfortable quarters if you’re willing to cooperate.”

 

Although her stomach twists, Jemma pulls herself together. “When did I say I wasn’t.”

 

Raina simply smiles.

 

vi.

 

They find Agent Simmons’ tracker in Paris.

 

Although Agent Hand insists on spending resources investigating dead ends in the city, Ward knows that Paris is the last place that they’ll find Jemma Simmons.

 

He’s looked into her research, and it’s through. If she’s right, this is bigger than anyone was lead to believe. And the people who took her want her for more than a bargaining chip. They’re smart, extremely calculating, and they aren’t the type of fools who would leave Agent Simmons’ tracker in the same city they’re keeping her in.

 

Her research indicates that they have a lab in China, and it seems like the best location to take her to.

 

He doesn’t like how little he knows about what he’s getting into. He doesn’t know who is pulling the strings, but he knows that he probably knows where Agent Simmons is, and that’s his mission.

 

So that’s all that matters.

 

vii.

 

They transfer her to a nicer, cleaner room after Raina leaves.

 

There’s a closet with a few articles of clothing, chemistry books on the bookshelf, and toiletries in the bathroom. They give her a few minutes to freshen up before they transport her to the lab.

 

Raina explains that they’re working on a device that will enhance the human ability. The problem lies in their inability to control the amount of serum the device injects to the subjects. Too much of the serum causes of the subjects to combust, a ticking time bomb. She speaks about it so clinically, and Jemma almost deludes herself into believing they’re not talking about real people.

 

“Where’s the serum?” She asks at the end.

 

“Ah,” Raina smiles. “You didn’t really think I would let you in the lab, Agent Simmons. All those volatile chemicals,” she tuts. “Here’s our Doctor’s findings,” she unloads a stack of papers in front of Jemma, “I hope this will suffice.”

 

“Of course,” Jemma murmurs softly. Inwardly, she calculates how long she can stall reporting any findings. She refuses to help them advance with their plans, but she can’t bring herself to go back to the cell.

 

As she begins to shuffle the papers, Raina looks at her almost threateningly. “We brought you hear to help us, and that’s what we hope you’ll do, Agent Simmons.”

 

Jemma nods just as the building alarms begin to go off.

 

viii.

 

The lab schematics are delivered to him by an over helpful Agent named Skye.  

 

“Is this about Agent Simmons?” Skye asks, hovering over his shoulder as he examines the blueprints.

 

“Yes,” he murmurs absentmindedly, “How did you get these?”

 

“I hacked old blueprints of the building,” Skye dismisses. “They could have made improvements, but the layout probably remains the same.”

 

“Hm,” Ward muses.

 

“You’re best possible entrance is from the side entrance. It’s the only side that has no visibility. No snipers.” Skye explains.

 

“How do you know Agent Simmons?” He questions, turning towards her.

 

“She is a friend of mine.” Skye explains quietly. “I miss her a lot.”

 

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes.

 

“No apology necessary,” Skye brushes off. “Just get her back.”

 

ix.

 

Raina strides out of the room, after placing her on lock down.

 

She instantly scours the room for any sign of a weapon, and after finding none decides to protect herself instead. She throws her weight against the desk, pushing it until it’s against the door. She creates a small barricade of chairs in the corner of the room and huddles behind it.

 

It could be anyone. Super powered individuals out for revenge or rivals.

 

(Or SHIELD, but she refuses to entertain that notion.)

 

x.

 

He infiltrates the building from the side door. The guards near the entrance don’t see him coming.

 

It isn’t until he reaches the second landing that he gets made. He isn’t quick enough and one of the guards manages to trigger the alarm. For a moment, he regrets not bringing back up.

 

The guards descend on him, while he attempts to keep them at bay. He’s an exemplary fighter, and the guards don’t give him much trouble. It’s the clap that follows the last guard falling over that sends a thrill of fear through him.

 

A girl in a floral print dress walks out of the darkness with a casual smile. “Well done,” she praises, “I’m impressed. I suppose you’re here of Agent Simmons. I can’t say I’m disappointed, Shield did send their best.”

 

“Where is she?” He asks striding towards the petite woman.

 

“Patience, Agent. All in good time, I need Agent Simmons’ help with a little problem, and then you can whisk her away like the White Knight you are.”

 

“Agent Simmons isn’t helping you with anything,” he grounds out.

 

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

 

xi.

 

Someone knocks on the door five minutes after Raina leaves.

 

She doesn’t answer, makes no indication that she’s even inside. She barely even breathes.

 

A rhythmic thud sounds against the door, as if someone were trying to break through the door, and Jemma’s breathe hitches.

 

She waits for the second thud but it never comes.

 

Instead she hears a muffled voice calls through the door, “Agent Simmons?”

 

xii.

 

He takes out Raina with a traq dart.

 

She doesn’t see it coming, and he supposes that he probably shouldn’t have done that. That when he got back to her, she’d probably be gone and he just lost a valuable prisoner, but in that moment he didn’t care.

 

It’s surprisingly simple and efficient. And he almost feels like an asshole as he steps over her unconscious body. Almost.

 

He follows the labyrinth of passages until he finds a door with a guy pounding against it. Grabbing the guy by the collar, he shoves him roughly against the door, knocking him out. He knocks on the door, before calling out her name. He hears a shuffle for a moment and then it’s quiet again.

 

“Agent Simmons,” he calls out more confidently. “My name is Agent Ward, with Shield.”

 

There’s the sound of scraping chairs and a muffled thud, before the door swings open. She stands in front him, looking half crazed and so different from the picture in her file. She looks older, more haggard.

 

“You’re here,” she breathes out.

 

He feels something bubble up in his chest. “I’m here to take you home.”

 


End file.
